Now we are going to watch Michael
Powell’s 1947 classic Black Narcissus, not to be "confused" with the much inferior 2020 television miniseries which featured a bunch of sexy actresses, none of whom a reasonable viewer can visualize as being nuns. This is a film not so much about what the characters do but
how we read the inner workings of their thoughts, which is why there seems
to be an inordinate number of close-ups, as the characters are thrust into a
test of faith in a strange, otherworldly environment they never really can cope with. It is clear from the
start they will fail, although the characters do so in accordance to their own
inner demons.
Although we hear the term "Black Narcissus" in reference to a cologne, the “Narcissus” in the title is also a
reference to a character in Greek mythology. Narcissus was a hunter known for
his “beauty,” and many of those who were smitten with him killed
themselves after being rejected. As the name implies in today’s use of the word, he was obsessed
with himself, to the point where he fell so in love with his reflection in a
pond that he was forever fixated on it until the day he died.
I’m not certain
if the term is meant to be applied to any specific character in the film or the
general feeling of impending doom—or perhaps it is about the palace on the hill, that
had already driven off one attempt to overcome its temptations. Maybe it will become clearer as the film proceeds.
Black Narcissus begins in a convent of Church of England nuns in Calcutta during the time of the British Raj. Although Henry VIII had dissolved Roman Catholic religious orders in order to take their lands, some began to believe that it was necessary to revive religious orders due to a general feeling that religious life was decaying within the Anglican Church. Orders involving nuns was strictly a voluntary service apart from the church. Members had to renew their vows every year; if they didn't, then it was assumed they were no longer nuns.
We first see Sister Clodagh (Deborah Kerr) being called away from her teaching of Indian children by Mother Dorothea to discus a matter of some importance:
A letter has been received from a Mr. Dean, who identifies himself as the British agent representing an Indian prince who the locals in the district of Mopu refer to as the "Old General." In the letter he expresses the doubtfulness of the enterprise that the Old General has requested:
It appears that the Old General believes that many people under his authority are backward and in need of some discipline and education. Mr. Dean, however, suggests that this may not be a practical idea. The Reverend Mother is not dissuaded by his warnings, believing him to be a "difficult" man who should not be looked upon for much assistance:
It seems her own superiors apparently believe that a younger, more energetic candidate for the position of Sister Superior at that this location is called for to overcome any difficulties, and Sister Clodagh was deemed most suitable, although the Reverend Mother has reservations about her inexperience; Sister Clodagh is however more than willing to accept the challenge:
In his letter, Mr. Dean warns that the locals are simple peasants...
...who shouldn't be expected to be very cooperative. The palace high above the valley...
...that they will be occupying has a history: it was built by the Old General's father to house his personal harem...
...it hasn't been occupied for years...
...and the only resident is an old woman named Angu Ayah (May Hallatt)...
...a relic from the old days when this place had seen busier times:
Mr. Dean (David Farrar) is seen arriving at the palace for a meeting...
...where the General is instructing Ayah to see after the new guests at the "House of Women"; she thinks that "fun" times are coming, but is told that the women coming are not there to have "fun." Ayah doesn't understand this; people here don't want a school or a hospital...
The Old General has modern ideas, and insists that a school and a hospital will be good for them; after all, the school and the hospital will be "free." Mr. Dean reminds him that the last time he had this idea it was free then, and still nobody came...
...but he has a "plan" to make them come--paying them to come. He expects both Mr. Dean and Ayah to take care of the new visitors until they can take care of themselves:
Mr. Dean gazes at a painting of times past...
...and muses that the "brothers"--probably another holy order--only stayed five months, and the nuns likely won't stay as long:
Looking over some photographs of her new home...
...Sister Clodagh expresses concern about who is going with her as they look on the other nuns having lunch below. The Reverend Mother reminds her that it is not going to be easy overseeing the nuns since they are serving voluntarily, and thus won't be easy to "manage or impress":
Only one that Reverend Mother chooses seems to cause concern for Sister Clodagh, Sister Ruth, who is not at the table due to illness. Yes, she will be a problem; her commitment to the vocation is doubtful. She needs to be made to feel "important," although Sister Clodagh feels this would be a mistake. The Reverend Mother scolds her for own conceit, telling her she can spare some of her own self-importance, furthering her own misgivings that Sister Clodagh might not be ready for this assignment, and suspects that she will be lonely.
The nuns have arrived, and we see Sister Ruth (Kathleen Byron) having been given the task of ringing the huge bell:
She seems to take a certain delight in trying to drown out the sound of some local horns blowing from the valley; perhaps this what Sister Clodagh was referring to about her personality. Down below, Sister Philippa (Flora Robson), the designated gardener, has complaints about the overgrown weeds...
...as Ayah calls her to help the "fat lady"--Sister Briony (Judith Furse)--in the dispensary, where dozens of people have been paid to show up:
Sister Clodagh introduces the women who will help Sister Honey (Jenny Laird) with her lay school, and Ayah introduces Joseph Anthony (Eddie Whaley Jr.), a local boy to assist them who speaks English, and Sister Ruth comes in to complain about all the children who don't speak English and "smell":
Later, Sister Clodagh has a "business" meeting with Mr. Dean, who reiterates his doubtfulness about the General's idea of turning this place into a convent...
...she tells him that she appreciates the General's generosity...
...although Mr. Dean notes that the General isn't interested in their religion, since he has his own "superior being." Sister Clodagh admonishes him for insulting her. Mr. Dean notes that an order of monks who were here only for meditation and prayer only lasted five months in this place...
...but Sister Clodagh assures him that they are here to keep busy. Looking at the painting of the grand gallery seen earlier with the pool meant for naked women, Mr. Dean reminds her of what this palace was once used for...
...and she says it will now be called the House of Sister Faith. She looks at Mr. Dean in way that is subject to interpretation:
Mr. Dean, scrutinizing her gaze, gives her until the "rains break."
In the evening. Sister Briony points out all the work that needs to be done yet to set up housekeeping, and how the climate, the wind, the altitude and the water is making everyone sick both physically and mentally, especially Sister Ruth. She suggests they could use Mr. Dean's help, but Sister Clodagh, disturbed by his prediction that she will fail in this endeavor, insists that they can make this work themselves without his help:
Mr. Dean knows they can't manage it alone, and oversees putting things in place...
...and fixes the plumbing:
Sister Clodagh eventually warms to him, and she gives him this look that could mean something more than mere appreciation, as noted in an earlier "look":
Sister Ruth then rushes in, exclaiming that a "bad case" had come to the dispensary, a woman who had cut herself was bleeding badly, but that she had managed to stop:
Sister Clodagh, forgetting what the Reverend Mother told her about how to maintain Sister Ruth religious motivations, instead scolds her for not summoning Sister Briony immediately and tells her to go back to her room. Mr. Dean, however, expresses appreciation for helping one of his better workers, and this puts ideas into Sister Ruth mind:
We now see what will become one of the central conflicts in the film, in a setting in which the carnal was its reason for being, which had driven out an order of brothers who were there strictly to meditate on their service to God and not to interact with the locals. Later we see, Sister Ruth speaking to Mr. Dean...
...and this clearly disturbs Sister Clodagh. Another woman also seems to have taken an interest in Mr. Dean, who is now hoping that the Sisters will take her off his hands: Kanchi (Jean Simmons):
Sister Clodagh agrees to take her on for schooling and housework...
...observing Kanchi's trust in him, Sister Clodagh again looks upon Mr. Dean with unspoken feelings...
Mr. Dean observes this and asks her if there is something she is "dying" to ask him, like is he married, but she declines to admit that. Later we see the little boy Joseph Anthony conducting the class while Sister Ruth looks down at the courtyard...
apparently jealous of the attention that Sister Clodagh is giving Mr. Dean:
Later as she prepares to ring the bell, we see the danger presented by the cliff that the bell is right on the edge of...
...and we can read what is in Sister Ruth's mind:
Sister Clodagh observes that Sister Philippa is gazing out across the valley instead of being in a posture of prayer during the ringing of the bell. Confronting her on her seeming indifference, Sister Philippa admits her heart is no longer in this project...
...which may be another problem that Sister Clodagh may or may not be able to handle or fix. Sister Philippa admits that this place has gotten her to thinking about her life before she became a nun that she was trying hard to forget, and becoming increasingly indifferent to the work she is doing here. Sister Clodagh suggests that she simply work harder so she doesn't think of such things, but Sister Philippa hands suggest that she has been doing this no effect:
While at prayer in the chapel, it seems that Sister Clodagh's mind is also wandering:
She remembers that she once had a different destiny in Ireland. She is out fishing with her lover Con...
...she enjoys this life, but he wants to get away, but can't because he's the oldest son and he is responsible for overseeing their parents' land. She wants to stay here for the rest of her life. However, something happened to prevent that, which we can read in her face now:
We now see three elements of trouble: the isolation from "civilization" causing psychological issues of commitment, adaption to the physical environment, and temptation. These thoughts are interrupted by the arrival of the Young General (Sabu):
He says he wants to go to school there, but Sister Clodagh tells him their schools are only for children and young girls, which he says isn't very nice. Wasn't Jesus Christs a "man"? Sister Clodagh suggests that he only took the shape of a man:
But she relents and allows him to attend a lay class, although not at the schedule of classwork he has written out and expects to do that is far above the level of children. We then see Kanchi's in one of the halls that was once a center of activity in the "House of Women," and she performs a sensual dance, which is likely the kind of thing that occurred in the old days:
The Young General appears, and Kanchi falls to her knees next to him; he smiles. We sense that temptation will effect him as well. We will later hear Mr. Dean speak of the fable about the prince and the beggar maid:
Sister Clodagh is now speaking to Mr. Dean about moving the holy man just a few feet so that he is no longer squatting on land that belongs to the convent, but Mr. Dean advises against it, since it will disturb the locals who clearly revere him, and she should avoid doing anything that will alienate them against the Sisters:
The Young General is doing his best in class; unlike the other students, he is using a typewriter...
...while Kanchi seems to be taken with an aroma in the room...
...and Sister Ruth wonders what it is too...
...the Young General asks her if she likes it; it is a cologne called Black Narcissus, which he purchased in a British Army surplus store:
During their meal, Sister Honey talks excitedly about all the different jewels and clothes the Young General seems to wear every day. Sister Clodagh's expression may suggest that she is glad she isn't the only one who finds this interesting:
The mention of emeralds brings back the memory of another time, when her grandmother presented her with a necklace of emeralds, that she will have when she marries:
She takes it off, and walks into the dark calling for Con; the scene fades to complete black. They never did marry, probably because Con decided he was going to leave this place:
She awakens from this reverie to the sound of Sister Ruth complaining about the Young General's cologne. She says she is going to call him "Black Narcissus" because she believes him vain (which is a more accurate a description for herself). He is not "black," but Sister Ruth insists "they" all look the same to her.
In class, the Young General is called upon to address the class about grammar. He is again observant of the attentions of Kanchi...
...as is Joseph Anthony:
In the chapel, the nuns are celebrating Christmas, singing "First Noel":
Mr. Dean (who looks like he may be drunk) and a concerned Young General arrive:
But Sister Clodagh's thoughts are elsewhere...
...she remembers when she and Con were also singing it together...
...bringing on an expression...
...that catches the concern of Sister Honey:
Sister Clodagh is broken out of her reverie by the drunken behavior of Mr. Dean...
...she tells him if he has a spark of decency left, he'll never come near them again. Perhaps it isn't just his drunkenness that she is concerned about:
This is underscored when a look of longing returns to her face even as he sings "I can never be a nun, because I am too fond of pleasure" as the Young General remarks about his "nice" voice, and he thinks he is "lovely." Don't you, he asks the Sister:
We have to remember that Anglican nuns are only so if they renew their vows every year. Sister Clodagh's commitment is clearly in question.
Unfortunately, she has a "rival" in Sister Ruth, even though Mr. Dean has shown only incidental interest in her. Sister Clodagh senses this, and decides to have a meeting with her...
...She wants to know why Sister Ruth hasn't renewed her vows, who after hesitating, admits to being "worried," before lashing out that no one likes her or wants her there. Sensing where this is going, Sister Clodagh begins twiddling with a pencil indicates that she is feeling extreme sensitivity on the subject...
...the camera then rises as she "suggests" that the problem is that she has been thinking too much of Mr. Dean, which may be right:
Sister Ruth accuses Sister Clodagh of the same thing, causing her to immediately rise in shaking "indignation"--or in recognition of the truth:
Sister Clodagh tells her she is making a mistake and Mr. Dean is not a "good" man, pointing out his drunken behavior in the chapel. She needs time to think about this, and write a letter to the Reverend Mother for advice. The tension in the air is thick until Sister Ruth calms down and leaves the room.
Winter is over and everything is in blossom. Perhaps things will turn out for the best after all:
We
see Sister Ruth waiting for Joseph Anthony with the mail. She takes a large
package from him of some item she ordered from Calcutta. Meanwhile, Kanchi is being punished by Ayah for being caught stealing jewelry from the convent...
...the Young General orders her to stop...
...he gives her one of his own necklaces; this signifies that he may intend to take her as a wife, or at least into his household:
In any case, this is the last we'll see of Kanchi, and of the Young General for a while. We then see Joseph Anthony taking the other children on a tour of the garden, to pronounce in correct English the names of the plants in the garden. Sister Clodagh overhears this, and realizes that Sister Philippa (who is in charge of the garden) has been doing something very wrong, and confronts her about why there are flowers being planted instead of vegetables:
Sister Philippa requests a transfer at once. Unlike Sister Briony and Sister Ruth, she is rather fond of the place and its natural beauty, and this was causing her to forget about her vows, and she believes that if she stays any longer, she will leave the order altogether:
But more trouble is brewing, much worse trouble. Sister Briony is confronted with an infant who is too sick for them to help. The mother of the child pleads with her to make the child well, and Sister Honey insists that they must do something. However, Sister Briony recalls Mr. Dean's admonition that they do not get themselves involved in a terminal case, because if someone dies, they will be accused of causing the death through some evil spell:
The mother is insistent...
...and Sister Honey foolishly relents, giving the child castor oil. The next day, no children show up for class. The nuns insist that Joseph Anthony tell them why there is no one there, but he refuses to speak:
Sister Clodagh rings the bell, which signals to Mr. Dean that something is wrong. He arrives to inform the nuns that the infant died; he personally drank the castor oil to show the people it was safe, but it didn't help. As he warned them, they are now persona non grata with the locals now.
That night while Sister Ruth plots her next move...
...and becomes even more determined as she spies on Sister Clodagh speaking to Mr. Dean from behind the grating...
...Sister Clodagh tells him her story. She thought she and Con were destined to marry since they were children. But he was ambitious and left for America; he apparently never intended to take her with him. She decided to become a nun to forget about all of that, and she never regretted it until she arrived here, when thoughts of the past returned. She has been dreaming of a different life, and she is struggling to confirm her own vows. She is also realizing that she really has no control of the situation she is in; Mr. Dean advises her that they all should leave now like the brothers did, before something terrible happens. There is something in the air that exaggerates everything.
Sister Clodagh decides to speak to Sister Ruth, after having received a letter from the Reverend Mother indicating that she has not renewed her vows and is leaving the order...
...and is confronted by Sister Ruth in a dress that came in that package:
Sister Clodagh insists that she wait until morning when they can talk this over, and remains with her reading her Bible while Sister Ruth deliberately provokes her by putting on makeup:
From the light of the candle is reflected the imagery of carnal desire...
...and eventually the candle burns out as Sister Clodagh nods off...
...and Sister Ruth escapes into the night:
She arrives at Mr. Dean's house...
...professes to be in love with him...
...he insists that he cannot reciprocate those feelings and she should return to the convent...
...and then she blacks out:
Sister Ruth at some point is revived from her fainting spell...
...Mr. Dean will take her back to the convent, but she will leave on her own or not at all. We see her face now in a demonic, pasty white and red eyes:
We get a closer look as she spies on Sister Clodagh...
...who is clearly at her wits end:
She rings the bell...
....and looks down below, perhaps thinking of a way of ending all of this...
...while Sister Ruth enters the picture, with the intention of "helping" her make this decision:
They struggle on the edge of the cliff...
...Sister Ruth loses her grip and falls to her death...
...as Sister Clodagh realizes that it is now all over:
The Young General arrives to apologize for disappearing; he confesses to doing "wrong" by his class by taking on Kanchi as a wife:
Mr. Dean is sorry to see Sister Clodagh go, but it is the right thing...
...Sister Clodagh admits that she will now be assigned to less important roles. As Mr. Deans sees them off (he promises to watch after Sister Ruth's grave) it begins to rain, in keeping with his prediction that he would give them until the rainy season began:
What makes Black Narcissus such a fascinating film is the way it weaves the elements of a horror and ghost story into the narrative that doesn't call attention to itself; it happens as a natural progression of events. We are told that an order of brothers lasted only five months there in the "House of Women." The "ghosts" of the place are not anything supernatural, but in its isolated location high on a hill (how was anybody able to make the trek up it from the valley without exhausting themselves, especially small children?). It was an "unnatural" setting that was deliberating done so to keep out "prying eyes" on its doings, which were for the pleasure of the one person.
All around, in every room, there were paintings and wall engravings of a sexual nature. Although they are only occasionally noted in the film, the fact that the nuns saw them every day had to have some kind of effect on them psychologically, although it is only implied in the interactions of Sister Clodagh and Sister Ruth, but perhaps even in Sister Philippa as well. This was quite a daring subject matter in 1947, even in British films not subject to Hays Code restrictions in the U.S.
In the end, one of them--Sister Ruth--was unable to overcome the temptations, although it was clear thar she was the one most susceptible to it. We can surmise the reasons why she became a nun, perhaps not unlike those of Sister Clodagh, but it is likely the rejection of her had more to do with an elevated level of narcissistic personality traits, and perhaps other psychological disorders. Sister Clodagh, on the other hand, seems to have become a nun out of a desire never to be rejected by another man and having false expectations.
There is the temptation to suggest that Mr. Dean was "responsible" in some way for this; but he had lived in this district for years and had adapted himself to it, and he had tried to warn the nuns not to come because he knew they could not. He never made an effort to "romance" anyone, even rejecting Kanchi who was more than willing if he wanted her. He told Sister Ruth that he "didn't love anyone," yet he was still the unwitting object of two nuns' fantasies. We also see evidence here that at least in Sister Clodagh's case, she became a nun for reasons that had nothing to do with "faith"--she joined to "forget," and now she found herself in a setting where she was surrounded by temptations of the flesh, and forced to interact with a man who she needed to survive this place.
Mr.
Dean represented a virile man who Sister Clodagh probably rarely
encountered at a convent, or intended to. Her reluctance to deal with him was a
result of not wanting to dredge desires of a former life, but for
awhile it seemed she would succumb as Sister Ruth did--who herself saw in Sister
Clodagh the impediment of her own desire. But the shock from the death
of Sister Ruth and the guilt it entailed now prevented any thoughts of
reentering the "real" world, only one of still questionable faith.
...
